Snow puts British cross nationals in doubt

Weather conditions across the United Kingdom could cause this weekend’s British Cyclocross Championships to be postponed, according to British Cycling. The championships are due to be held at Sutton Park, Birmingham on Sunday, but heavy snow could make the venue unsafe for a major event. Concerns are around problems accessing the venue, not around the safety of the course itself.

“Due to the Adverse Weather conditions affecting much of the country at present.” Says a statement on British Cycling’s website, “and due to the local conditions in and around Birmingham's Sutton Park there are serious concerns regarding the safety of visitors to the venue for this weekend's National Championship event.”

The programme is currently unaffected and British Cycling will post any changes at 11am on Friday at the latest.

Reigning champions expected to repeat

Men’s champion Jody Crawforth took a win in the last round of the National Trophy in Bradford, and is expected to carry that form to this weekend’s race. Seven-time champion Roger Hammond of Cervélo TestTeam will be hard to beat as usual, especially as he has won the last five championships to be held on this course. Ian Field has spent the majority of the ‘cross season in Belgium and so could be a dark horse.

Helen Wyman makes a rare return to domestic racing to make a bid for her fifth successive national title. Her biggest rivals should be her Belgian-based counterparts Gabby Day and Nikki Harris; Harris especially has achieved a number of good results since returning from the shoulder injury she sustained in lap 1 of the World Championship road race in September.